Prequel to The Boy Named Freak
by liketoreadandwrite
Summary: Do you wonder why it was that the Dursley's treated Harry the way they did in The Boy Named Freak? which is my other story. This story will answer some questions. There will be abuse in this story. What was Harry's life like before Snape rescued him -Done
1. Prologue

Read my other story: The Boy Named Freak to understand this story.

They had never meant for him to grow up thinking his name was Freak. When Petunia Dursley decided to take her nephew in, she thought she could take care of him as her own child, just as the letter from Albus Dumbledore suggested she do.

She would never forget the morning when she found her baby nephew asleep on her doorstep. After she was finished screaming, she picked him up and carried him into the kitchen where Vernon and Dudley were. She sat down at the table with the baby in her lap and read the letter.

"Who the ruddy hell who is that?" Vernon asked.

"It's my nephew, Harry. It seems that my sister and her husband were killed by one of their own kind last night. It blew up half their house… Harry was the only survivor. Her lot has asked that we take care of him."

Vernon didn't look to happy about this at all. He had hoped that they would never meet the boy, and now they were expected to take care of him? Petunia wasn't sure why, but she wanted him. Maybe it was because other than Dudley, he was her last remaining blood relative.

"I'd like to keep him," she said. "We're his only relatives… but we'll make sure he never finds out about that world."

When Vernon left later that day, she prepared Harry for a meal. They didn't have another high chair, so she let him sit on her lap while he ate. Before Vernon had left, he'd told her that he didn't want the boy sleeping in any of the bedrooms upstairs. She had no idea where to put him then. She didn't want him to sleep on the couch, what if he rolled off?

She let the boys play while she looked around the house for a place for Harry to sleep. Finally, she came to a stop at the cupboard under the stairs. There was an old mattress in there for when Marge, Vernon's sister came to visit with her dogs. She used to have a very old dog, but it had died recently.

"Well, we have a use for it now I guess," Petunia said to herself.

She walked back into the kitchen where she had left the boys. She stopped in her tracks when she saw that Harry had levitated a couple of blocks in the air. _No, _she thought to herself. _Not again. This cannot be happening again! _ She was taken back to her childhood when Lily had always managed to do magic, and then she met the Snape boy. _Freaks! _She thought to herself. _Nothing but freaks! _

"Oh Lily, how could you? I wanted to love him, I really did and now I am going to be reminded of… those days," Petunia looked down at Harry and said bitterly. "You're just going to be another freak, aren't you?"

Harry laughed and lowered the blocks to the floor. Dudley was clapping his hands; he had enjoyed the bit of magic demonstrated in front of him.

"Freak!" Harry laughed.

"That's right; you're a freak, just like your parents and that Snape!"

"Harry freak," he said and laughed again.

And from that day forward, she called him freak. At first she still used his name, but once Vernon heard her calling him that, he seemed to like it. After a while, neither one of them called him Harry anymore. This confused the baby who clearly knew what his name was, but soon he started to respond to Freak and seemed to forget his name.

He was relatively happy though. He wasn't a messy eater; she rarely had to clean up after him. He didn't seem to mind that neither she nor Vernon paid any attention to him. In the beginning, she had wanted to cuddle and love him, but she couldn't anymore, not if he was going to be magical. They would give room and board, they would teach him what he needed to know about life, but they would never love him or give him attention. Lily could blame that on herself for having a magical child.

When the boys turned two, Petunia decided to start to potty train them. Vernon was always complaining about how expensive diapers were. She knew she should have started earlier with them, but caring for two toddlers was hard work. Harry liked to do magic, though she never told Vernon this and Dudley liked to get into mischief. He also liked to beat his cousin up. She usually left them to it; Vernon told her it was the only way that Freak would learn to defend himself.

Dudley didn't seem to want to learn how to use the toilet, but Harry did, though he was still slow at times. He probably would have learned how to do it quickly if it hadn't been for the Christmas morning that had changed everything… by then Vernon had witnessed that Harry did magic. They both agreed if he did it in front of them again, he'd have to be beaten. Petunia didn't feel comfortable with hurting such a young child, so she kept it to herself if he did magic in front of her… that was until he hurt Dudley with it.

When she saw that the boy had burnt Dudley, she had felt afraid for her little boy's life. She would never have thought she would beat a child, but after she saw what the magic could do, she lost it. She had spanked the boy as hard as she could, but she didn't think it was good enough, so she handed him off to Vernon who beat him even harder.

"Petunia, we have to get rid of him," Vernon told her later. "It's evil, that freaky thing is evil… I've never been a religious man, but I think we have the devils spawn in our house."

"The devils spawn, now really Vernon, all those people-"

"Magic is evil, is it not? Also wasn't it some evil wizard who killed your sister because he wanted that boy? I read the letters your sister sent you. She was in hiding because of that evil creature who burnt our son today! Why else would someone want to kill a baby? It's obvious isn't it? We are raising evil in our home. If you want that thing to stay here, we're going to have to teach it a lesson. You just leave that to me."

After that night, Petunia couldn't stop thinking about what Vernon told her. It was evil, should they get rid of it? What if they sent it to an orphanage and it hurt other children? No, they had to take care of it themselves. The creature would never harm Dudley again.

A/N: There will be some more chapters through Harry's and Petunia's point of view. I just want the fans of The Boy Named Freak understand how it came to Harry living the life he did at the Dursley's. Remember though even though these chapters are going to be sad, he get's rescued in the end.


	2. Am I a good boy now?

A/N: This is in Harry's point of view. Even though he thinks his name is Freak, I used the name Harry anyway. They all call him Freak still though.

_Two Years Later_

Harry scrubbed at his aunt and uncles night table. His uncle had spilled soda all over it the night before. Uncle Vernon wasn't like most people where they took a glass of water to bed, he took soda or juice. The night before, he had knocked it over when he'd wanted a drink. It was up to Harry to get it cleaned.

Harry didn't mind this, it was an easy job compared to the rest of the chores he had that day. He still had to shovel out the sidewalk after last nights snow storm. He'd been given a brutal spanking that morning for not having it done when his uncle tried to leave for work. He didn't think it was fair, he didn't know that it snowed last night. That didn't matter to his aunt and uncle though, they always punished him.

Dudley ran past the doorway of the bedroom. Moments later, Harry heard him jumping down the stairs, than there was a scream.

"OWIE! Mummy! Mummy! Freak used weird powers and threw me downstairs!"

Harry froze and the began to shake, he was terrified now. _Oh no_, he thought. _No, Dudley, why_? His cousin liked it when he was punished. Everyday Harry was punished for something that Dudley said he did even if he didn't do anything. They both knew that if there was any use of the freaky powers the beating would be worse. He let out a whimper as he heard his aunt running up the stairs.

"What have we told you about using those powers?" Aunt Petunia yelled.

Normally she left him alone; it was Uncle Vernon who punished him the most. She only hit him if she thought he'd used the powers. It had been a while since he had used them.

"Well? Answer me Freak!"

"Didn't do it," Harry answered.

"Oh, so now Dudley is a liar is he!? Get over here now!"

Harry didn't move, he wanted to, but he was too scared. She walked over and smacked him hard; the back of his head hit the nightstand. He tried to hold in his tears, but it was hard to. She picked him up next, and carried him out of the room. _Oh please just put me in my cupboard _he thought. _My bottom hurts so much, I don't want another spanking._

She carried him over to the staircase.

"Since you made Dudley fall down the stairs, I'll do the same to you. You're going to learn not to use though powers Freak! Don't you ever use them on my son again!"

Harry closed his eyes. Why did this stuff have to keep happening?

--  
He lay in his cupboard later; he clutched his sore arm to his chest. It was at a very strange angle now. He had heard her say that it was broken and he would have to sleep until his uncle came home to take him to the hospital. It was the second time he had been there in a month, he liked going there. The people were always very nice to him.

"Why the hell isn't that sidewalk shovelled? Where is the boy?" Uncle Vernon shouted as he slammed the front door shut.

"He's being punished. He made Dudley fall down the steps today with those powers. I decided to show him what it was like and the brat decided to break his arm."

"Petunia, I don't how much longer I can take this. I told you that I don't want him using those powers on our son. Beating him isn't doing the trick. That Christmas morning when he burnt Dudley... well you remember what I told you! I'm scared for our son's life if that thing is going to be throwing him down the steps."

"I know Vernon, I'm scared too. Lily never did stuff like that. I'm not sure what we can do."

"He keeps it up, and he will be living on the streets. I'm tired of being soft on that evil creature! FREAK! GET OUT HERE NOW!"

Harry got up and opened the cupboard door. Slowly, he walked over to his aunt and uncle. They looked so big and scary. Why did he have to be evil? He knew he was, otherwise he'd be allowed to have a real name. He didn't deserve to have one though, he was the devils spawn. He tried his best to be good, but still he did bad stuff. Maybe he really had made Dudley fall down the steps. He stopped in front of his uncle and stared up at him, he tried his best not to cry.

SMACK!

Harry fell to the floor; he let out a yelp as his arm hit the floor. He couldn't help it, he started to cry. This enraged his uncle who grabbed him by the hair and made him stand up.

"What have I told you about crying?"

Harry tried to stifle his sobs, he took a couple of breathes and managed to control himself. He knew if he continued to cry, his uncle would give him another spanking.

"Repeat after me," his uncle began.

Once they were finished with the ritual, his uncle picked him up and turned to Petunia.

"I'll get him to the hospital then," he said and kissed her on the cheek.

--  
"Mr. Dursley, this child is very malnourished, he is too tiny. You said he is four-years-old?" the pretty doctor said in a very angry voice.

Harry stared down at the cast that was now on his arm. How was he going to do chores now? On the way to the hospital, his uncle had told him that the broken arm didn't change anything; he was still expected to do chores.

"Well, my sister-in-law told us that he was premature," Uncle Vernon said. "When she used to visit us we thought he was too little. When they died, both Petunia and I thought that all he needed was a good meal, but still he doesn't grow and he eats a lot at the dinner table."

"Sir, I've looked over Harry's files. He comes to the hospital a lot because of his injuries. He is covered in bruises. I want to know what is going on in your home. I am not even sure if I should send him home with you. Right now I want to call child services and have an investigation on your home. I have seen cases of child abuse before. This child is too small, he doesn't weigh enough, his rib bones stick out too much, he is covered in bruises, and he has a very haunted look to him. Now let's be honest with each other here. If this little boy is abused, not only will you lose your nephew, but your son as well…"

Harry stopped listening to the conversation. He was very bored, who was Harry? He sighed and picked up the child's book the nice doctor had given him and started to look through it. He stared down at the letters in the book. He knew his alphabet from the educational shows Dudley watched. His aunt didn't know that he secretly watched them as well. He was too evil to go to school but he wanted to learn too so he taught himself instead.

"T-H-E," he said aloud. "C-A-T."

"-assure you that we have never hit that child. He has had that haunted look since his parents died."

"C-H-A-S-E-D T-H-E B-A-L-L"

"Er, boy, have you ever been hit at home?" Uncle Vernon asked.

Harry looked up quickly. He knew the rehearsed speech; it was one they practised often. He knew he couldn't tell the truth about what happened at home. He didn't want his fingers to fall off, he needed them. Apparently if someone evil like him told the truth about the abuse, their fingers fell off.

"Love Uncle Vernon," he answered. "He loves me too. When we leave, we're going to get some ice cream. I've never been hit ever," then he added something new to the speech. "Well, I get birfday spankings!" he had seen his uncle give them to Dudley. "They are funny!" and he let out a laugh. He had seen Dudley laugh while he got one.

He noticed his uncle looked surprised but pleased. Harry hoped that he wouldn't have to be punished later that night. At least he could keep his fingers

"You see?" Vernon asked. "If I beat that child, would he talk about how much he loves me? Are you going to tell me that birthday spankings are abuse now?"

"Well no, but Mr. Dursley, I'm still very concerned. I want to send someone over to your home… and be warned, they won't tell you when they are coming."

"Send them; you won't see any abuse in my home."

When they were in the car later, his uncle yelled at him. Harry cringed against the front seat. He had hoped he wouldn't still be in trouble, but he was wrong. Why couldn't he ever do anything right. Now someone was coming over who could lock him up forever if he didn't behave.

"You hear that? If they suspect I beat you, they will take you away and lock you in a very small space. You will never see day light again! We don't know when this person is coming over, so you'd better be on your best behaviour! You want to keep your fingers don't you?"

--

He had been given a terrible spanking that night, but things changed the next day. Harry didn't have to do chores. Aunt Petunia woke him up and carried him into the kitchen where a bowl of cereal was waiting. It was the first time he was allowed to eat it. Normally he got a dry piece of toast, and only if he did his chores right. She made the breakfast for everyone instead. Afterwards, she let him sit in front of the television and watch cartoons for the morning.

Later, he practised reading. He knew all his letters of course, but he still couldn't figure out what words they made. Usually when he read them out loud, his aunt would tell him to be quiet, but she let him read them that day.

Everyday was the same. Dudley would get ready for school, his uncle for work, and Harry was allowed to do what he wanted. Places on his body that had hurt before no longer did. His aunt and uncle must have been pleased with him.

One afternoon, two weeks after he had gone to the hospital, a nice lady with red hair came to the house. She wore nice dress clothing and talked in a very soft voice. Harry sat in the sitting-room reading his letters when she entered the room.

"What are you doing Harry?" she asked.

He looked around, who was she talking to? Who was Harry? He shrugged and continued to read his letters out loud. The woman walked over and sat down in a chair. He stared at her; she beckoned for him to come over.

He got up and walked over to her. When he reached her, she lifted him up and held him on her lap. He liked her immediately; it was the first time he had ever sat on anyone's lap. He'd always wished that Aunt Petunia would hold him that way, but she never did. The woman introduced herself as Ms. Krane.

"How are you today?" she asked.

"Good," he said.

"Were you reading that book?" she asked.

"Just letters," he said. "Don't know how to read."

"Well, you are only four-years-old; someday I'm sure you'll be able to read lots of words."

Then she started to ask the questions. He saw Aunt Petunia in the doorway. Normally he wasn't allowed to answer questions, but she nodded and gave him the thumbs up sign. The questions she asked were ones he had been asked before, he knew he had to lie. _Well, I'm not really lying. I haven't been hit for a long time. I haven't done chores and I get to eat. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon have been so nice lately. They love me now._

"How did you break your arm?" she asked.

Harry thought about the day when he had been thrown down the stairs and shuddered. He knew he should lie though; he didn't want his aunt and uncle to be upset with him. There was also the fact that he could lose his fingers and be locked up forever.

"Fell down. Freak clumsy," he answered.

"Pardon?"

"What have I told you about calling yourself that?" Aunt Petunia called from across the room. "I'm sorry, he caught that word on tv and he really likes it. He calls himself that, my son, me, my husband. We can't get him out of the habit. He is starting school next year, I hope he grows out of it soon."

"Children usually do, although I am curious about why he didn't start school with Dudley," Ms. Krane said.

"He isn't fully potty trained. He still has to wear diapers; I can't get him to learn. I don't know why, Dudley was quick at learning."

"Well, you'll have to hurry and get that solved. He's wearing a diaper now?"

Indeed he was, and it was strange. He hadn't worn diapers for a very long time, he had to wash his own pants, but then Aunt Petunia had him start to wear diapers, and his clothes had been washed in the machine twice! The night before he'd had a bath! It felt so nice to have a bath, he hoped they would always let him have one. Someday he hoped that he could have more than one outfit. Maybe if he kept being a good boy he would.

"I'm trying," Aunt Petunia said. "Someone told me it might be because he lost his parents."

"It might be, but that still shouldn't stop him. The older he gets, the harder it will be for him to use the toilet. Have you had Dudley show him? Sometimes children learn better when they see someone their own age do it."

"I'll try that thanks, I have been looking for more ideas."

"So, are you very happy Harry?" Ms. Krane asked.

There was that name Harry again. Who was that? He saw that she was looking at him though, so he nodded his head quickly.

"I got a baths, I eat food, and I play!" he said excitedly.

It was so strange to be able to play now. He couldn't wait until he could play with the blocks again. He listened to his aunt and woman talk a little while longer.

"Well, Mrs. Dursley, from what I can see, he is a very happy child. I am very glad to see that. I want to make another visit in the future though. I think you might want to enroll him into therapy, just so he can talk about his parent's deaths with someone. It will affect him later in life."

---  
After the woman left, everything went back to the way it was before, and Harry didn't get it. He thought he was finally a good boy, but he wasn't. He was now getting spanked daily, sometimes more than once and he had to do chores again. He wasn't allowed to have baths, except with his old wash cloth, he no longer wore diapers. He had to clean his own pants again as well. His uncle also started to make him say all the bad stuff everyday like before.

Why?


	3. Maybe he really isn't evil

"Petunia, would you like to explain to me why Freak isn't doing his chores?" Vernon asked as he stomped into the kitchen.

She was at the stove making breakfast that morning. Harry was too sick to do anything. She had woken him up to help her, but he had a very high fever. She preferred to make the food anyway; the boy never could make breakfast properly. She always thought it tasted disgusting, so she waited until he was doing another chore before she made her own breakfast. Strangely enough, Vernon and Dudley never complained, she never understood why, unless she was just a picky eater.

"He is too sick," she answered as she walked over with the frying pan and placed some bacon on his and Dudley's plates. "He is going to have to go to a hospital actually. He is running a temperature of a hundred and three."

"He can't go to the hospital; he has two black eyes and a cut on his face. They are going to think we hurt him or something," Vernon said. "That woman accused me of abusing him, remember?"

"You do," Dudley answered as shoved a piece of bacon in his mouth.

Petunia nearly dropped the frying pan when Dudley said this. Of course their son knew that Harry got hit a lot, he knew he was treated differently than most children were, but he also liked it. He enjoyed watching when Harry got a spanking. Sometimes he would find something wrong with the boy's chores and report it right away.

"No we don't, he gets hit sometimes, but he isn't abused," Vernon said as he ruffled Dudley's hair.

"Uh huh. Lady talk to us in school about it. She said kids get abused at home. You hurt Freak all time. You threw him downstairs. That was bad mummy," Dudley said.

This shocked Petunia, just the other day he had laughed when Vernon had slapped Harry across the face.

"Well, he threw you down the steps. I only did it to him because he did it to you," Petunia told Dudley.

"Uh uh, tole you mummy, I lie. Didn't like when you threw him downstairs. Only like it when he gets spanking or slap. No more throwing him downstairs. It's abuse."

"Why are they teaching the children about abuse?" Vernon asked. "These are four-year-olds!"

"I suppose it's to help them recognize it," Petunia answered and she cast a worried look at Dudley. At least he didn't think spankings were abuse… but in her mind they weren't. The boy deserved every one he got anyway. She thought of something else though. Dudley said he had lied when he told her that Harry had thrown him down the steps. "Dudley, do you always lie when you tell mummy that Freak has done the freaky powers?"

"Uh huh. Just wanted him spanked. Didn't want him thrown down the steps. Didn't like when you kicked freak or when you punched him. Don't do that, it's abuse."

Vernon and Petunia exchanged looks. They didn't think that their son paid much attention to what they did to Harry, but apparently he did. What if he told the school what was happening at their place? He was too young to understand that the boy was evil… but was Freak evil? From what Dudley was saying, he had always lied about the freaky powers. What if the only time the child had used them on Dudley was when they were fighting over the bear? Their son didn't start to tell them about the powers until he understood that they were wrong… that was shortly before he had started school.

"It is not abuse when it comes to Freak," Vernon said.

"Have you told anyone at school about him?" Petunia asked.

Dudley nodded. "Tole them I have cousin same age as me but he don't come to school. They don't believe me when I say his name is Freak."

"We're going to have to lock Freak up in the basement Petunia, what if someone comes to investigate? I don't care if he is sick, get him out here now. He's getting a spanking he'll remember for the rest of his life."

"No, Vernon," Petunia said. "We are not locking him in the basement, and you aren't spanking him when he is that sick. We have to get him to a hospital after breakfast."

"We can't! He has too many injuries. Small children always run high fevers anyway, he's fine. We just have to keep an eye on him that's all… which you can do since he's your nephew. I'll take Dudder's out for the day. I'd like to know how he got sick in the first place."

"Oh I don't know…" Petunia said in a sarcastic voice. "Maybe because it's winter, and you force him to wash his clothes outside with the garden hose. He is four-years-old, he can't handle that, even if he is evil. I want him to wash them in the tub from now on, just until it warms up outside. Unless of course you want to sit up with two sick children because Harry will likely give what he has to Dudley. I still think we should take him to the hospital."

She and Vernon glared at each other. Harry had become the source of their arguments a lot lately. She hated the child, she was scared of him because he was evil, and yet at times she wondered if he really was. Something kept telling her that he was just an innocent child. The day that he had burnt Dudley had been an accident. Couldn't they wait until he was older?

"Unfortunately you can't drive, and I refuse to take him to the hospital. I am taking Dudley to visit an old friend of mine; you can deal with Freak for the day. I wanted to spend my weekend at home, but of course that's something else that stupid thing is ruining for me."

Vernon finished his breakfast, and then took Dudley upstairs to get him ready to go out. Petunia felt shaky as she started to clear up. She didn't like when the argued, but they couldn't keep treating Harry the way they were… she wanted to contact Lily's people and tell them to take him. She just couldn't when he had so many cuts and bruises, and Vernon would never let up. Besides, they would wonder why they named him Freak.

When Dudley and Vernon were gone, she went to the cupboard, and opened it. Harry lay on the floor wrapped in his blankets. He was mumbling incoherently. The floor was freezing as well. He didn't have the luxury of the old mattress anymore. Vernon had taken it away from him when he had burnt Dudley.

"That day changed a lot of things for you, didn't it?" she asked as she picked him up. "You could have had somewhat of a happy life if you hadn't done that. You wouldn't get hit, you would be able to go to school and you'd likely know your real name. We wouldn't be able to send you to school with that kind of name."

She kept talking to him as she carried him to the kitchen. She didn't know if he even realized what was going on, he leaned his head against her shoulder and closed his eyes. She felt pity for him and tried to push it away. She couldn't feel bad for him; he was an evil creature wasn't he?

She set him on the floor, before she ran up the steps to find some old clothes that Dudley didn't wear anymore. She couldn't let him sit on the furniture in the gross clothing he was wearing. She could probably give them a real wash anyway.

When she went back into the kitchen, she found Harry lying on the floor panting. He was really sick, she was going to have to ask a neighbour to drive them to a hospital there was no other choice. She wrinkled her nose while she undressed him and put the new clothes on him. She left him on the floor to throw the disgusting clothes in the washing machine.

"All right sweety," she said, it was the first time she had ever said that to him. "I'm just going to give you some medicine and then make some phone calls."

"Freak do chores," he mumbled.

"Not today, you're too sick," she said.

She picked him up and carried him to the sitting-room. She placed him on the couch and placed a blanket over him. She could call the hospital and ask for advice first. She wasn't sure what to do with a child as sick as he was; neither boy had ever had such a high temperature. She'd heard something about children getting brain damage from fevers, could that happen to Harry?

She took a wash cloth and wet it, and then she took it back out to Harry and placed it on his head. He didn't even notice that the television was on. He just stared at the ceiling, and muttered that he needed to do chores. He looked awful; his face was pale which only enhanced his black eyes. His skin was decorated in bruises; there were also marks around his neck. Did Vernon try and strangle him? No of course not! He didn't like the child but he would never try to kill him.

"What are we going to do with you? Vernon is right, I can't send you to the hospital looking the way you do," she said.

"Freak do chores," he muttered.

"We've really warped you haven't we?" she asked.

"Freak do chores," he answered.

"I'll just have to see what I can do for you from here."

She didn't want to think about the child he used to be. In the beginning, he used to be a very happy-go-lucky child. He had laughed a lot, even when Vernon had shouted at him. He seemed to understand that they didn't like him, so he avoided climbing on them the way he had when he first came, but he had been happy nevertheless. Then there was the Christmas two-years ago, he'd been so happy to finally have a toy. He'd never had a toy before then. He had burnt Dudley and now he was extremely terrified of them.

---  
Harry's temperature finally went down thankfully. She still let him sleep on the couch and washed his clothes for him until he got over the sickness completely. Vernon wasn't impressed, but he finally listened to her point of view. They had to care for him when he was sick, especially if he wasn't willing to send him to the hospital.

He took a long time to recover from his illness. By that time, his bruises and cuts had healed and he had to go back to the hospital because of his arm. When he was finally well enough, he was very weak. He had a lot of trouble doing his chores, so Petunia made breakfast while he did the simplest ones. Dudley was even nicer to him for a while. He seemed to understand that his cousin wasn't in the best of shape.

"How come I don't go school?" Harry asked one evening while they dried the dishes. He was shaking a bit, so she let him stand over the cupboard so he didn't drop anything.

"You're too stupid," Vernon answered from the table. "You would flunk out your first day."

"Freak know alphabet," he answered.

He started to recite the letters from A to Z.

"Can count too," he told her and counted to twenty.

"How do you know how to do that?" she asked him.

He didn't answer, and she thought she knew. She had bought a lot of educational videos for Dudley; she had him watch them on the days he wasn't at school. Harry always seemed to take his time doing the chores in the sitting-room when these videos were on. He must have been teaching himself. It explained why he would read letters out loud from books. She had never thought about it before.

"Wow, we have a genius on our hands Petunia," Vernon said sarcastically. "He can say his alphabet and count to twenty… right. We can expect great things from _him_."

She didn't want to admit it, but it was impressive. He was a four-year-old child and he was teaching himself what he should be learning in school. Really, it wouldn't hurt to let him watch the videos with Dudley. There were some that explained each letter sounds; maybe he could learn to read on his own as well.

"Don't let him watch those educational videos anymore," Vernon said as if reading her mind. "Filth like him doesn't deserve to learn."

"Vernon, you know we can't keep him home forever. The neighbour's are already suspicious."

"That's why I think we should just lock him up for good," Vernon answered.

"And I'm telling you that we can't do that," she snapped.

She looked at the little boy beside her, he handed her a plate; he was busy muttering letters under his breath, so he hadn't heard their conversation. The thought of him being locked up for good made her cringe. He didn't deserve that. When she closed her eyes, she thought she could see Lily glaring at her.

_Well what do you expect Lily? I never wanted him. I told you that I never wanted to meet him. I told you we would stay in contact, but I didn't want him near my son… and what happened? You die and he ends up on my doorstep. You know I'm not really a cruel person, but when it comes to my son, well he comes first. Your child used those freaky powers and burnt him. _

_**You could have just sent him back to Dumbledore. You know how to contact him. Let him heal and send him back to him. Please Tuney, please don't let my son grow up abused.**_

Of course Petunia knew she really wasn't talking to her sister, she just had known her well enough. She knew if Lily could talk to her, those would be her exact words.

"Vernon, what would you say if I said we could send him back to his own lot?" Petunia asked.

"No," he said.

"What do you mean no? You don't want him here; you don't want the powers in our house and you don't want him near Dudley. What's the problem?"

"Because they might come here, I don't want anymore in my house. Don't you think they are going to be suspicious when they find out he thinks his name is Freak. We've called him that for three years now. He is stupid; he won't be able to figure out his real name now. If you want him out of your hands, all you have to do is say the word and I'll lock him up so he never sees daylight again," Vernon answered.

"You even try it, and I'll take the boys and leave you," Petunia said.

It was the first time she had ever said anything like it before. Vernon stared at her in shock.

"He can keep washing his clothes outside when it warms up, you can keep hitting him, but you cannot ignore him again when he is sick and you cannot lock him up. I don't even know if I believe anymore that he is evil,"

"That's what he wants you to think Petunia, but have it your way. I don't want him in school though. He'll contaminate the other children."

Petunia closed her eyes and pictured her sister's angry face again.

_I tried Lily. I'm scared of my husband and I'm scared of what will happen if people find out what we are doing to him. I'm doing the best I can, Vernon wants to lock him up so he can't see daylight again, but I won't let him. That's all I can do for him, I'm sorry._

_**You'll get it for being a coward, and you'll regret it Petunia Evans!**_

That scared her for a moment. That wasn't something that Lily would normally say to her. She hadn't really just contacted her sister, had she?

"I have to go lay down," Petunia said as she picked up Harry. "I have a headache."

She thought she was going crazy. She walked over to the cupboard and put him inside and locked it. Then she proceeded up the steps. She didn't like the life she was living, she wanted out.

-  
A/N: Probably only a couple more chapters until this is over. I want to do one of Harry's point of view when Severus arrives.


	4. When is my birthday?

Harry felt very light-headed as he tried to re-paint the garden bench. His uncle told him that it was to be done before they got home. His aunt and uncle had taken Dudley out for his fifth birthday, but had left him alone. He had to promise that he would stay in the backyard the entire time so that no one would see him home alone.

His aunt hadn't been too impressed about this. She had wanted to send him down to one of the neighbours house. However, Harry was covered in cuts and bruises from his latest beating. Uncle Vernon had said it would make the neighbours 'suspicious' whatever that meant. Sometimes he wished he could show everyone what they did to him, but he couldn't. He didn't want to be locked up forever.

He started to cough hard; the fumes were really getting to him. Really, it wouldn't hurt to take a break… he walked away from the garden bench and took a seat beside the flowers; no one would be able to see him there. As he sat there, he wondered when he would be five. He hadn't even known that he was four until a lady at the hospital had asked his aunt and uncle how old he was before Christmas. He didn't remember ever having a birthday though.

As he thought about this, he felt his eyes drooping. The paint fumes had made him very tired.

---

Harry winced as he put the plates onto the table for the Dursley's. He was in a lot of pain. His uncle had found him sleeping outside and had beaten him for a very long time. Afterwards, he had been forced to paint the bench while his uncle sat and watched. Sometimes he would purposely wipe wet paint off the bench, so Harry would have to do it again.

"You're lucky we are going to let you eat tonight," Vernon snapped at him now. "When you are told to do something, you do it! Do you understand me boy? It doesn't surprise me that you're lazy. Your parents were good for nothing lazy scoundrels as well. Marge is right, we should have taken you to the orphanage!"

Harry felt hopeful, he wasn't sure what an orphanage was, but it had to be better than here.

"Of course we can't send you there though, you'd just contaminate the other children with your evil," Vernon continued.

Harry's shoulders sank; he waited until he was excused. He wasn't allowed to eat supper with the rest of the family. He had to wait until they were done. When he was told to go, he headed back to the cupboard. His back hurt a lot where his uncle had kicked him. Aunt Petunia had scolded Uncle Vernon for that.

"You can't kick him that hard. What if you damage his spine?"

"Must you disagree with everything I do," he had snapped.

Harry sank onto the floor in the cupboard. He was still very tired but he was also hungry, he hadn't eaten yet that day. He began to recite the alphabet in his head. When he was done that, he started to think about colours. He had learned the other day on one of the educational videos the difference between primary and secondary colours.

"Orange, purple and green are secondary," he muttered to himself. "Three of 'em!"

"All right boy! Get in here and eat!"

Harry got up and hurried to the kitchen. There was a newspaper over this booster seat. None of them knew that he had secretly gone to the bathroom outside so his pants were fairly clean that day. He climbed onto his chair with difficulty and stared down at the plate. There were two chicken bones with some meat left on them and a small spoonful of potatoes, and Dudley's bread crusts. His cousin didn't like the crust.

Harry began to eat the food quickly, when he was finished, the plate was whisked away by his aunt. He climbed off of his chair and pushed it over to the sink so he could help her out. He was in a lot more pain than usual. He climbed back onto the chair and stood beside her.

"Why would you fall asleep Freak?" she asked.

"Didn't mean to," he answered. "Freak dizzy."

"Listen to me!" Aunt Petunia hissed as she glanced toward the kitchen door; Uncle Vernon was in the living-room listening to the television loudly. "You have to do what your uncle- what we tell you to do. I know you don't like your beatings, so stop allowing yourself to get them."

Harry nodded but he still didn't understand. Usually he tried to be a very good boy. Sometimes all he had to was cough too loudly and his uncle would hurt him. It wasn't his fault, and falling asleep hadn't been either. Most of the time he worked hard at his chores, he repeated after his uncle and he kept quiet, what more could he do?

"Tried but dizzy," he told her.

"You're going to be five-years-old soon, when will you talk properly? Dudley doesn't talk that way does he?" Aunt Petunia snapped.

"When?" he asked as he took plate to dry it. "Freak get birfday?"

"At the end of July," she answered.

"July?" he asked. "What's July?"

"You don't know what July is? I thought you were smart. July is a _month! _ Don't tell me that you don't know what a month is!"

He dried a plate for her and set it down on the cupboard. He had heard of a month, but he didn't know what it was. He stared at her as he took another plate and shook his head. He saw her roll her eyes.

"Idiot," she muttered.

"Freak idiot?" he asked her.

"Yes, how can you not know what a month is? Vernon is right, you are an stupid and worthless. You don't even know when your birthday is! Well tell me, what day in July is your birthday?"

"Wezday? he guessed, he knew the days of the week.

Aunt Petunia handed him another plate before she walked over to the thing on the wall with a picture on it. She lifted a page and stared down at the area that had a lot of squares and numbers on it.

"Okay, you know it's on a Wednesday, but you didn't know which month?" she asked skeptically.

Harry dried the next plate and set it on the stack. He had just picked a day in the week, he didn't really know that his birthday was on Wednesday. Did that mean he had turned five last week, or did he always have a birthday on that day?

"Am I five?" he asked her. "Wezday last week!"

"No you stupid ignorant moron!" she snapped.

She walked back over the sink and began to wash a cup. Harry didn't get it but he wished he could be smart. He wasn't sure what a moron or ignorant was, but he knew they couldn't be good.

"Turn five when?" he asked.

"There are twelve months in a year, Freak," and she quickly recited them for him. "This month is June. Today, is June twenty-third which is Dudley's birthday. Today is also a Sunday. Do you understand so far?"

Harry shook his head.

"Each year is twelve months long, which is what I just explained to you-"

"January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August…" he forgot how the rest went.

"Well, you have the majority of them anyway. Each month is thirty or thirty-one days long, well with the exception of February. June is almost over as it's the twenty-third. Tomorrow will be the twenty-fourth the day after that will be the twenty-fifth. When it gets to the thirtieth which is next Sunday, the month will be over. Next Monday, will be July first,"

"Wednesday Freak's birfday," Harry answered. "Right?"

"It will be on Wednesday but not next Wednesday. Your birthday is on the thirty-first of July. Do you understand?"

Harry nodded, even though he wasn't sure if he did. It was all very confusing to him. It wasn't July until next Monday, but there was a Wednesday after Monday. Why wasn't his birthday then? Why wasn't it on the one that was coming up? Why were there so many numbers to figure out? He couldn't even count to thirty!

"You say when it's Freak's birfday?" he asked her.

"Yes, I'll tell you when it's your birthday," she sighed. "Listen Freak, I can handle it from here. Why don't you go to sleep? You look exhausted."

Harry nodded. He climbed off of his chair and then pushed it back to the table. He then walked out to the hallway and went into his cupboard. He found the blanket his mother had made for him and hugged it tightly as he closed his eyes. He knew she had made it for him; Aunt Petunia had told him she had 'knitted' it for him. It was ruined now because of Dudley, but he still liked it anyway. He wished he could remember her. Why couldn't he be with his mummy and daddy at died? Dudley was with his parents.

---  
"Today's Freak's birfday," Harry said.

"No it's not," Aunt Petunia snapped. "It's still June. I told you that I will tell you when it's your birthday."

"Today Wezday," he said.

He heard her sigh; she walked over to him quickly. Harry flinched; he hadn't meant to be a bad boy. However, she just picked him up and carried him into the living-room. She set him on the floor and walked over to where all the videos were.

"This one will teach you about months," she told him. "Do not tell Dudley or your Uncle Vernon that I let you watch these."

It was rare that he was given permission to watch the videos. He felt excited as she started the video. The puppet people on the television were fun to watch. He clapped his hands and laughed excitedly.

"Freak watch telly!" he yelled excited. "Oh, yay!"

When the video was over, he knew what all the months were, but he still didn't understand the numbers in it. Oh well, Aunt Petunia would tell him when his birthday was. He thought about what they would do that day. They would take him out somewhere fun and buy him treats. He closed his eyes and imagined himself opening a birthday present. He realized that he'd finally have toys.

Harry let out a squeal of excitement. He was going to get toys, cake, they would take him out somewhere fun. They were going to love him! Maybe they would let him go to school as well. There were also the beds upstairs.

"Freak get own room and toys," he whispered excitedly.

If he wasn't going to get all the stuff he imagined then his aunt wouldn't have told him when his birthday was. They had never celebrated it before. He walked out into the kitchen to see what chores he needed to do. He couldn't wait to be five.

---

A/N: Next chapter will be Petunia's PoV and a bit of Harry's on his birthday (which I'm afraid to say won't be the happy way he imagined it at all) and then there will be one more chapter after that, which will be Harry's point of view of when Snape comes.


	5. He was planning it all along!

Petunia wished she hadn't told Harry about his birthday. It wasn't as if they were going to do anything for him. Vernon was all for locking him up for the day just so he'd realize that his day wasn't important, but she was still debating about it. If he locked him up once down in the basement, he might do it again for longer.

One morning when while Harry was working on his chores outside and Dudley who was home for the summer was watching the television, she went down to the basement. It was very rare that she went down there since she had no reason too. She gasped when she got down to the bottom of the steps. _When did this get down here? _

She walked past some boxes where there was a large cage. It was a big enough for a small boy to fit inside, and maybe even grow. She knew of course if the said child was locked away in there, he likely wouldn't. Harry already had a stunted growth. The cage had thin bars that were very close together. At the bottom of one side of the cage, there was what looked to be a small slot. It was big enough for a plate of food to be pushed through. She had to wonder why there was one razer sharp bar longer than the rest though.

He was already planning to lock Harry up. Petunia leaned against a stack of boxes. Why hadn't she noticed this? The last time she had felt the need to be in the basement was a year ago, and the cage hadn't been there. On top of the cage was an old blanked folded on top. Did Vernon plan on locking him up with the blanket draped over the cage?

She backed up slowly, and then ran back up the steps. He wouldn't do it, he couldn't! She went out to look at Harry who was busy watering the roses. He had been very quiet lately. She'd yelled at him for asking about his birthday two days ago, and Vernon had spanked him for it. As far as she knew, he hadn't spoken since then. When he saw her watching him, he started to water everything more quickly.

---  
A few days passed. She took the boys to the park. She saw Abarella Figg, one of their neighbours who had an unusual obsession with cats watching Harry. He had some new cuts all over his face. Petunia made the boys walk faster.

When they got to the park, she made Harry sit on the grass while she pushed Dudley on the swings. He watched them with a look of envy on his face. She thought she saw tears streaming down his cheeks, but she ignored him. He still hadn't said a word. Perhaps he had forgotten all about his birthday, she hoped so.

"How come Freak don't swing?" Dudley asked.

"He is bad," Petunia answered.

"Oh okay," Dudley answered. "Can I go on the slide then?"

"All right," she answered. "Come on Freak, Dudley wants to play on the slide!"

She took Dudley by the hand and led with him over to the slide. He laughed as he climbed up the ladder to go down. Harry made his slow way over to them. He stared up at the slide with a very sad expression on his face. They had never let him play on the playground equipment. Usually they left him home alone, but she figured he could come this time. He had seemed depressed lately for some reason.

He walked over and flopped on to the sand that surrounded the slide. He stuck a finger into the dirt and began to trace random letters into the sand. He still didn't speak even though he used to read them out loud.

"Mummy, let Freak go down the slide, it is fun!" Dudley demanded. "Come on Freak! Don't just sit there! Be a good boy for once."

"No," Petunia told Harry firmly.

Dudley would tell Vernon about it for sure. It was all right for him to be at the park with them, but her husband wouldn't like it if he found out that Harry had played on the playground equipment.

"You're no fun!" Dudley told Freak. "I'm telling daddy to give you a spanking tonight! You need one."

Harry looked up with a terrified look on his face. He looked at her with what looked like a pleading glance. She just shook her head and told Dudley to do what he wanted. She sat down on a bench and watched her son run over to the slide again. She got lost into her thoughts of the days when she had been a little girl.

"Mummy, I'm hungry," Dudley told her after a while.

"Let's go home," she said and looked over to where Freak had made a large hill in the sand. "Come on Freak, we're going home!"

She took Dudley by the hand and they began to walk toward the park gate. She looked over her should a couple of times to make sure that Harry was following. Dudley began to tell her about the shows he wanted to watch that afternoon.

"Can my friend Piers come play?" he asked as they walked down Magnolia Crescent.

"Well, I'll have to call his mother to see, but I don't think it will be a problem," she said. "I bet you have a lot of friends, don't you Diddy?"

"Uh huh. There is Malcolm and Gordon too! Maybe they can come play someday. I miss my friends. Mummy, nobody else has an evil freaky cousin, how come I have to? He doesn't even play when I want him to."

"I know sweetums. We never wanted him, but we have to take care of him. I wish you wouldn't tell people at your school about him though," she said.

"Why?" Dudley asked.

"They will wonder why he isn't at school," she said.

She looked over her shoulder to see that Harry was running behind them. The least he could so was keep up, she thought angrily.

"Oh," he said. "They do. Piers asked me. I said cause he is evil."

Petunia realized that it might be hard to invite Dudley's friends over, unless of course they kept Harry locked in the cupboard the entire time. She saw Abarella Figg staring at them again; her eyes were mostly on the boy though.

"Harry, hurry up please," she called.

He didn't speed up, he looked at her with confusion before he looked around, but that was it. She sighed and held out a hand for him. Why was the child so dumb? She had thought that he was bright, but apparently not. He didn't understand when his birthday was, he still didn't understand months, and now he wasn't coming when she called. They had said his real name in front of him a few times. He should understand that it was his name.

When he saw her hand, he ran over and took a hold of it.

---  
"Dudley wants to invite some of his friends over," Petunia told Vernon that evening. "I'm just wondering what we should do about Freak."

"I can lock him up in the basement," Vernon answered. "The less people who know about him from the school, the better."

"Yes, I saw your little cage down there. You're not planning to lock him up for good are you?" she asked.

"I'd like to, but you won't listen to reason," he answered.

She sighed and started to eat. Dudley was talking about the park and how Harry hadn't wanted to play. He asked if Vernon would give him a spanking. Her husband nodded and shoved a large piece of pork into his mouth. Their nephew of course was waiting in the cupboard. They were going to give him the fat off the pork that night. They had cut it off and set it a side on a plate for him.

"Well, what if we invited Dudley's friends here for his birthday. We'll lock him up down there on that day," Vernon said. "Just on that day. You saw the way he acted after you told him when his birthday is. He thinks that we are actually going to celebrate it. A day locked in the basement will teach him to behave," Vernon finally said.

Petunia let out another sigh. "Well, as long as it's just one day."

---  
Harry woke up feeling sore. It seemed the beatings came more frequently these days and he didn't know why. He tried his best to be a good boy; he had even stopped speaking completely. His aunt and uncle had yelled at him for it, but it wasn't good enough, he still got hurt.

He walked into the kitchen one Wednesday morning weeks after he had last asked when his birthday was. His chair was already in front of the stove, so he walked over and climbed on to it. Without speaking, his aunt put butter into the pan and let it melt before she cracked a couple of eggs into the pan.

"There you are," she told him. "By the way, today is your birthday. You are now five! Now you can stop asking me. It's been every single day since I told you, now you can stop!"

_Every day?_ Harry wondered. He hadn't asked for a very long time. He hadn't even spoken to anyone! Had he asked without realizing it? He smiled though, it was finally here. He would no longer be hit, and he would finally have toys. There were some wrapped gifts on the table.

Dudley ran into the kitchen, with Uncle Vernon trailing him.

"Presents?" Dudley asked.

"Those are for you Dudley. Since you have friends coming today, I thought you could have some new toys for them to play with!"

Harry's heart sunk. They weren't for him? So where were his presents? The birthday boy always got cake and presents! Uncle Vernon looked up at him.

"You didn't think these were for you, did you?" he asked. "Petunia, take over breakfast please. Freak and I need to have a talk. Come here Freak," Uncle Vernon patted his lap.

He couldn't really mean that Harry should sit on his lap? Was it a trick? He climbed off the chair and walked over to Uncle Vernon slowly. When he reached him, his uncle picked him up and laid him over his lap. He should have known that this was what he was going to get.

"Dudley's friends are coming over today. You are going to stay locked in the basement for the day. If I find out that you made a sound, you will get a real spanking. This is just your birthday spanking."

After the spanking was over, his uncle picked him and carried him to the basement door. Harry tried his best not to cry. His bottom hurt a lot, he wasn't given the light slaps Dudley usually got, he was given very hard ones. It had lasted for a long time.

His uncle shoved him into a cage and then slammed the door when they were in the basement. Harry had never been down here before, and he didn't like it. He preferred to be in his cupboard. He got a glimpse of the small room before everything went dark. His uncle had covered the cage with a blanket.

"No noise Freak! You'll get the worst beating of your life if you make any noise at all."

Harry heard him leave, and then the basement door slammed. He started to cry silently. He was five-years-old today! It was his birthday why did he have to be locked up? This never happened to Dudley! He wasn't even given any toys or anything. He curled up into a ball and closed his eyes.

Later, he tried to see if there was a way out of the cage. Even in his cupboard he managed to have some walking room, but in here he didn't. If he could just walk around the basement, he'd be fine. If he heard someone open the basement door, he could go back in the cage.

As it was, he could hear Dudley and his friends running around the house laughing. Harry sighed and began to look around the cage for an opening. He found a small slot near the door. He stuck his arm through it; maybe he could open the cage from the outside. As he tried this though, his arm got stuck. One of the wires of the cage was dug into his arm.

He spent most of the trying to find away to pull his arm back out without hurting himself. When he thought he heard someone approaching the door, he closed his eyes and pulled his arm out as fast as he could. He let out a small cry as the wire dug into his skin and made a long scratch down his arm.

A few moments later, the blanket was pulled off the cage. Harry stared up at his aunt, his stomach let out a small growl. He was very hungry. Was she going to let him out? He didn't like it in here at all, and now his arm was burning with pain.

"Dudley's friends are gone, you can come out now," she told him. "I'll let Vernon know that you were very quiet. Now come on."

She opened the door. Harry hurried after her; he hoped that he would never have to be locked in there again. He wanted to forget that it had ever happened. The first thing he wanted to do was go outside and breathe some fresh air.

Aunt Petunia picked him up and set him down onto his booster seat with a newspaper on it. There was a plate with half eaten sandwiches on it.

"What in the world did you do to your arm?" she asked as he reached for one.

He looked down at his arm, there was a long gash on it, and there was a lot of blood dripping from his arm and onto the floor and table.

"I suppose you stuck your arm through that slot didn't you?" she asked. "I remember seeing a bar longer and sharper than the rest, I bet he did that on the purpose, it was as if he knew you would do that. Well, it's lucky that you cut the back of your arm. I don't want to think of what would have happened if it had been your wrist. Well, let's get it cleaned up then."

He sat still as she took a wash cloth and wiped the blood off his arm. Next she took the stinging stuff he had never liked and put it on a ball of cotton. Harry closed his eyes and tried not to cry out as she wiped at his arm with it.

"I might have to wrap an old shirt around that," Aunt Petunia muttered. "Damn you if there was rust on that bar Vernon Dursley! I need to get you out of here. He was planning this all along. I know that now. Later I'll write a letter to those people, I just won't tell Vernon."

A/N: One more chapter and this will be finished. I'm going to add Petunia's point of view of seeing Snape after Harry leaves. She never gets the chance to write her letter you see.


	6. Actions have consequences

A few days went by; Harry kept to himself more and more. All hopes for someone to ever love him was gone. He didn't say a word to anyone. His uncle didn't even ask him to repeat what he said anymore. Sometimes when he looked at the man, he felt intense hatred. He had never felt anything like it before.

"Freak, I need you to cut the grass by the garden wall," Aunt Petunia told him. "It's getting ridiculously long again."

So after his indoor chores, Harry went outside with a long pair of scissors and started to cut the grass. He kept his head down; he didn't want anyone to see him. While he did this, he looked around at the colours. He named what they were in his head. Green was his favourite, he wasn't sure why.

The sun was hot that day. He rolled up the sleeves of his sweater. There was still some stained blood on the sleeve from the other day. He had tried to get out it when he'd washed his sweater the but hadn't managed it.

He examined the long cut that was down his arm. His aunt made sure to clean it every day because she was worried that it would get infected. It still hurt a lot, there was a burning sensation that went up and down his arm.

Why did this stuff have to keep happening to him? Why did he have to spend his birthday locked up? He always tried his hardest to be a good boy. He knew what evil was, but he didn't think he was.

He thought he felt someone's eyes on him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone wearing a grey suit by the yard. He was examining the light pole. Harry let out a small sigh; he wished he could stand up and show the man all of his injuries. He wanted to tell him everything that went on in his home… but he couldn't. He didn't want to be locked up, he wanted his fingers. Harry started to cry silently as he cut the grass.

"Hey freak, my mummy says you should hurry up if you ever want to sit down again. She says she'll tell daddy to spank you and I hope he does!"

Harry started to cut the grass even more quickly. He couldn't stand another spanking; his bottom was very sore as it was. His entire body hurt. It would be all right if he could just hold the scissors properly.

"What are you doing mister? Never saw you before. Are you one of those people who fix the street lights?"

Dudley was now talking to the man who was examining the light pole. Harry strained to listen.

"Yes, I am. I was actually looking for Petunia Dursley's place. I just wanted to make sure her electricity worked."

_That's our place! _Harry thought. How would his uncle react if he found out that some electricity man had seen him? Would he be punished for letting himself be seen? He ducked his head even lower as he cut the grass. There wasn't much left now. If he could get it done, he could go inside with his head down so that no one could see him. Even if he hadn't seen his face (ever) he knew there cuts on it. His eye also hurt, and so did the top of his head because his uncle had ripped his hair out. He ignored Dudley's answer but then he heard the man say:

"That is a very good rule, you shouldn't talk to strangers. However, I am just checking your electricity so it's okay. Also, I need to know how many people live in your house, just so I know how much is used in your house. There are four members in your house, am I right?"

He looked up at the man now. More people knew he was there? So was it all right that he was cutting the grass while the man fixed the electricity? He stared at the man's face. He was a lot older than anyone he had ever seen before. He had grey balding hair… but it was the eyes that caught his attention, they were black.

"There's my mummy, my daddy me and Freak," Dudley answered. "But Freak isn't allowed to use the elekticity he not allowed to do anything."

Harry dropped his gaze back down to the grass and started to cut more quickly. Now the man knew he was a freak! Dudley wasn't supposed to tell people that. When he did, it was Harry who suffered the consequences. He moved down the wall. _Almost done, almost done then I can go inside! _He told himself.

The next thing he knew, his aunt was outside. _Oh no! She is going to punish me because I hardly have anything done. _He started to cry silently again. She wasn't supposed to come out. She said that she would inspect his work later! He moved even faster, his hands were shaky. _Please, please don't let me be punished! I'm trying, I really am! _

Miraculously she didn't even say anything to him. She just talked to the man, then grabbed Dudley's hand and pulled him inside. Harry looked back up, but the man had turned away. He was walking down the street quickly. Sighing with relief, he finished cutting the grass.

When he was done, he went back inside. Aunt Petunia was scolding Dudley for talking to a stranger. He walked over to her and placed the scissors on the table.

"You stink today!" she snapped at him. "Just go in your cupboard until I tell you to come out."

That suited him. He was really tired anyway. These days he never had any energy, especially since he hadn't eaten since the day his uncle had pulled his hair out. He went into his cupboard, curled up and fell asleep.

---

Later he had to help with dinner. His aunt was telling his uncle about the man from earlier. From the way she talked about it, the man had seemed dangerous. All he had done was examine the light post though. He hadn't come anywhere near Harry or Dudley. Sometimes Aunt Petunia was overly suspicious of strangers though.

He carried the plates over to the table one at a time as he usually did. He was feeling very dizzy that night; all he wanted to do was go to sleep, even if he had slept all day. As he tried to put the last plate on the table, he lost strength and dropped it on the ground and it broke. He felt uneasy as he stared at his uncle.

Suddenly his uncle punched him in the nose, had him over his lap and was spanking him very hard. Harry started to scream. His bottom was already so tender that it hurt even more than usual. His uncle yelled for him to shut up, but he didn't care, he was already in so much pain. Suddenly, his aunt started to scream too.

"Stop, right now. I'll curse you into oblivion if you don't!" someone said.

If he wasn't in so much pain, he would have looked, but he was crying too hard to even think properly.

"Petunia?" His uncle stopped slapping him asked. "He's not one of them is he?"

One of who?

"Yes. He's the one who told _her_ about that world," his aunt answered.

So apparently they knew this man who told his uncle to stop slapping him Harry thought as he cried.

"Put that child on the floor this instant, gently."

Harry felt himself lowered to the floor. He curled up into a ball and continued to cry, he missed the rest of the conversation. He was crying from relief now as well as the pain. Someone had helped him! No one had ever stopped his uncle in the middle of a spanking, and he had knew from the way his uncle had been hitting him that it would have lasted a long time.

Then suddenly, his nose no longer hurt. He felt a cooling sensation on his bottom as well. He stopped crying and looked at his saviour who picked him up. He was young, with black eyes (the same as the light man) and black long hair. Harry put his arms around the man and continued to stare at him. He had a long pointed nose. He looked angry, but he was staring at Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon.

"Just what the hell is going on around here? Is this not Harry Potter?"

Who's Harry Potter? He was shocked even more when his aunt said yes. They talked a little longer in angry voices, before the man turned to walk away. He finally looked down at him.

"Where is your room?"

Harry pointed at the cupboard under the stairs, but for some reason, the man just walked past it. He walked up the steps. Did he have him confused with Dudley? He was put back down once they got upstairs.

"Show me your room," he told him.

Harry was very confused now. He grabbed on to the hand railing and made his slow way back down the stairs. He had been scared of the steps since his aunt had thrown him down them. He walked over to the cupboard and opened it.

"That's your room?" The man asked in what sounded like an angry voice.

"Sleep now?" he asked, his voice sounded strange, but he hadn't talked in so long.

He was very tired now. His family was watching from the doorway. He wasn't looking forward to when the man left. He was sure that he would get another beating, and it would be worse than the last one. He shuddered at that thought.

"Not here, you're not. I just wanted to see if you had anything you wanted to bring along. Some more clothes, maybe some toys?"

Was he going away? Maybe he was going to the orphanage his uncle had spoken about often. If his family wasn't going to be there, he was all for it.

"Are you sure that's your room? Where are your clothes?"

Of course it was his room. Where else would he sleep? He pointed at the clothes that he was wearing. Couldn't the man see them?

"Don't you have anymore?"

Harry shook his head. He had always wanted more than one outfit, but freaks weren't allowed to have nice clothes. He looked back into the cupboard. If he was going away, he had to take the blanket that his mother had made for him. He picked it up and looked back up at the man.

"Mine," he told him.

The man picked him up. He stared at his face again feeling hopeful. Did this mean that he wasn't ever going to see his aunt and uncle again? He hugged the man tightly and buried his face into his shoulder. He liked him because he had stopped his uncle from hurting him, and then he had taken the pain away. He would never forget that.

---  
Petunia felt shaky after Severus Snape left with Harry. She should have written the letter sooner. Severus had always hated her, and he would likely work hard to get revenge on her. He had been in love with her sister, she knew that. Why had he come though? How did he know where she even lived? Unless of course the wizards had always spied on them.

"You told them, even after I told you not to!" Vernon accused.

"Of course I didn't," she answered. "Listen that-that _man_ knew Lily. He always spied on us when we were kids. I think because Harry was her son, he decided to spy on me again. I think he must have had a an _unhealthy_ obsession with her or something. Now he has found out that we abused her son."

"I told you from the beginning that I didn't want him here," Vernon said. "All you had to do was say the word and I would have taken him to an orphanage!"

"Excuse me?" Petunia asked. "I told you often that if you didn't want him here we could send him to one. I told you that if you wanted, I could contact his people! _You _wanted to lock him up for good. You purposely made one of the wires longer than the other so that Harry would scratch his arm and you also ripped his hair out of his head! You are an unnaturally cruel man Vernon Dursley!"

"Me?" Vernon hissed. "I'm cruel? Who threw him down the stairs? Who shoved him off of a chair while he was drying a _knife! _Don't you even try to put this all on me! You hurt him as much as I did!"

"Was Freaks name really Harry?" Dudley interrupted.

"Yes," Petunia finally answered, she turned from Vernon. "Your cousin's real name is Harry James Potter."

"So why you call him Freak?" Dudley asked.

"That's what he was son. Harry was an unnatural evil creature who deserved every beating he got. We named him Freak because he wasn't human," Vernon answered.

"Oh," Dudley said.

"So what is going to happen? Do you think that man will be back?" Vernon asked.

"Yes, he'll be back. When he does, we'll have to be prepared because he might bring more of them."

---  
They weren't contacted for a few days. Severus didn't come back, but an owl flew into the house. It dropped a letter on the table while they were eating breakfast. The last few days had been strange without Harry around. Petunia kind of missed him.

_Dear Mr and Mrs. Dursley._

_On the eighth of August, you will be picked up by a ministry representative for questioning about the abuse of Harry James Potter. Your son will also be taken into custody until the hearing is over. Do not try to flee, we will find you._

_-Albus Dumbledore_

_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

"What is it?" Vernon asked angrily.

He had been shocked because of the owl, so he hadn't said a word at first.

"We have to go to a hearing, and it's dated for today! They are going to take Dudley away from us."

Petunia closed her eyes. When she did, she saw Lily's gloating face.

_-Fin-_


End file.
